Setts



(N0 Mk1.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1i.

H. W. DEAN.

NAILING MACHINE.

Patented A r 3, 1888',

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 2.

I H W. DEAN. NAILINGMAGHINB.

No. 380,645. PatentedApr. 3,1888.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. H W DEAN NAILING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 3 1888.

v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY W. DEA OF. SHARON, ASSIGNOR on TWO-THIRDS TO'LEONARDR.

LOTIIROP, or LYNN, AND SAMUEL acumen, or BOSTON, MASSACHU- snrrs.

,NAlLING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,645, dated April 3, 1888.

Application filed June 28, 1837. Serial No. 242,729. (No model.)

To all whom, it mag concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. DEAN, of Sharon, county of Norfolk, State of Massachus'etts, have invented an Improvement in Tacking-Maehiues,.of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, 'is aspecification, like letterson the drawings representing like parts.

This inventionhas for its object to construct 1o amaehi ne for drivi'ng lasting-tacks, it being adapted to be used in connection with a lasting'machine of any ordinary construction.

In accordance with this invention the tacks are fed from aho'pperf down an inctrned race- [5 way into a-flexible feed-tube,saidtube forming a-eontinuous passage from the raceway to the tack-driving passage of a universally-movable tack-driving head. Meansare provided for exhausting the air from said driver'passage,

and hence from .the. feed-tube communicating with it atits lower end,to thereby form avacuum within the tube in front of the tack, 'to thereby aidthe forward movement of the said tack, and means are also provided for forcing 1 air into the upper end of said feed-tube above the tack, so that the -tack will be positively, driven through the flexible feed-tube into the driver-passage directly beneath the driver. Thedriver is. adapted'to be 'movedby com 0 pressed airtaken from an accumulator or airreservoir, the driver forcing the taek'from the driver-passage into the material, the flow of air being controlled by suitable valves, and the accumulator or air-reservoiris supplied with air by an air-pump of any ordinary construction, the pump taking its air from the driverpassage of the movable driving-head. The air-p unip,thc accumulator, the tack hopper and raceway, and the operating mechanism therefor are mounted upon a suitable stationary frame-work, and the taek-driving head is connected with said stationary frame-work by a cord or chain, and also by the said flexible tubes, the cord or chain being somewhatshorter than the tubes,so that no strain will come upon the tubes even though the head he moved so that the chain is taut. The flexible tubes are so constructed as to be non-collapsible, as will be described.

for forcing air through the feed-tube; Fig. 5,

a side elevation of the movable taek-drivin neau removedfr'om f-h'e'main'or stationary part of the machine, the plate which conceals the let-ofl' for the tack within the headbeing 'i'emoved and shown independently; "Fig.- ii, a front elevation and partial section of the mov able tack-driving"head, showing. the driver and means for moving it; Figs. 7, .8, and 9, details to be referred to. The main framework of the-machine eomprises a post or standard, A, and a frame or head, A, secured upon it. Ahopper, B,con

' sisting of a hollow shell, is fixed toa shaft, B,-

having its bearings in the frame A, the said shaft B having secured to it a'fwor'ln-wheel, b, which is driven byaworm, b, fixed to a drivingshaft, b, upon which shaft is secured a'pulley, b", driven by any suitable means, as by a'lb'elt which passes around the main drive wheel B, fixed. to a shaft having its-bearings in the base of thepost or standard A.

, The hollow shellof the hopperB is provided within it with aseries of inclined shelves or pockets,-b, of usualconstruetion', which reeeivethe'taeks'and drop them during the retation of thehopper upon an inclined apron, 50, which, asshown in Fig. 4, is directed backward into the hopper B, so that the tacks falling from it strike upon the upper end'of the inclined raceway B, the said raceway be ing composed, essentially, of two parallel bars extended into the hopper and separated a short distance, soas to leave a tack-receiving slot between them, their free ends being eon- 5 neetedby a screw, 51.; Theopeu frontend or i face of the hopper is closed by a plate, 1), secured to the frame A, said plate llaiflng an opening through it at b for the introduction of tacks into the hopper.

Just above the top of the raceway, within the hopper, I have provided a knocking-oil device, shown as a lever, 52, acted upon by a spring, 53, which normally serves to keep the short arm of the said lever pressed against the face of the hopper, it having a series of camrecesses, 54, the said means and spring efi'ecting the movement of the lever above the raceway and causing it to knock ofl' such tacks as are not properly lodged thereon.

The raceway B has at its lower end a suitable le t -ofi' consisting, essentially, of a bar, 0, having a projecting portion, said bar moving in a block, 0. The projecting portion 0 is cut away, as at 0, (see Fig. 4,) and is provided with a curved slot, a, the upper end of which slot,twhen the projecting portion 0' is in one position, coincides with the groove in the inclined raceway, the lower end of the slot, when the projecting portion a is moved into its other position, coinciding with a feed chute or tube, 2, so that the tack, arriving at the termination of the inclined raceway, just enters the grooved slot, and, owing to its relative position with the block 0, in which it slides, is checked, and as the projecting portion is moved the tack follows down the curved slot until it enters the feed tube or chute 2. While the tack is being conveyed from the raceway to the feed-tube by the let-ofi', the end of the raceway is closed by the projection c. The

. bar 0 is movedby a bell-crank lever, 0, pivotcd to an arm, 0, onearm of the said bellcrank lever being connected loosely with the said bar c, its other arm being connected with a vertically-moving plunger, 0".

The feed-tube 2, which receives the tube from and forms a continuation of the raceway, is connected with a tack-driving head, D. (See Figs. Band 6.) The tube 2 is flexible, and is herein shown as made of two spiral coils of metal or wire, e e, (see Fig. 4,) wound in op posite directions, one within the other, and mclosed in a rubber tube, 0, to thereby form an air-tight tube through which pointed tacks can pass without catching and clogging, the spiral coils giving sutficient transverse rigidity to the tube to prevent its collapse when the air is exhausted therefrom:

The tubes 3, 4, and 5 are of substantially the same construction.

The tack-driving head D is composed of an irregular frame-work, d, having several passages through it, to be described, one of which assages, as d, formsacontinuation of the feedub2 and communicates with the driver-passage d", through which the tack is driven by a driver, d.

To facilitate the passage of the tack through the feed-tube 2, the air is exhausted from the lower end thereof and in front of the tack by a suitable air-pump, f, mounted upon the stationary frame-work A (see Fig. 1) and connected by a flexible tube or pipe, as 3, with ,the driver-passage d of the head D.

The piston of the pump herein shown is joined to a connecting-rod, f, extended to a pin of a ornnk,f, fixed to the main driveshaft. The air taken from the driving-channel d by a pipe, 3, is forced through a pipe. f, into an accumulator or air-reservoir, E. The driver-bar d is connected with a piston, 9, moving in a cylinder, 9, into which air is admitted when the driver-bar is to be actuated. The cylinder 9' has an inlet-port, 12, by which air is admitted to the cylinder 9', the admission of the air being controlled by a suitable slidevalve, as 12, contained within the valve-case 0, said slide-valve consisting, as herein shown, of a cylindrical plug having several grooves or recesses'to co-operate with difl'erent ports, to he described.

The valve '0 is connected loosely with a bent lever, 71, pivoted to a shaft, h, the opposite end of the said lever having attached to it a rod, h, extending vertically within the handpiece h, secured to the frame-work, and into the upper end of the said hand-piece a thumbpiece, h, is fitted, which is connected by' a compression-spring, k with the rod h, so that by depressing the thumb-piece h the rod h will act to move the lever h on its pivot, thereby moving the valve ,2; so that the passage 13 of the valve connects the inlet-port of the valvecase with the port 12 of the cylinder 9'. When the valve 1; is in this position, the passage 15 connects port 16 6f the cylinder 9 with the exhaust-port 17 of the cylinder. A flexible tube, 4, connects the accumulator or air-reservoir with.the port 14 of the valve-case o. The valve '0 is moved to its opposite extreme position by a lever, 2', pivoted at z" to the frame work, one end of the lever being connected loosely with the valve, while its other end is connected with a thumb operated rod, 1', contained within the hand-piece i, said rod and hand piece being substantially the same as the rod and hand-piece h h, before described. When the valve his in its other extreme position,the passage 18 connects the port 14 with the port 19 of the cylinder to thereby move the piston gback'to its normal position, and also at such time the D-port 20 connects the port 12 with the passage 21, and the air contained in the cylinder is forced by the pistonthrough said passage 21 into the flexible tube 5. The tube 5 is connected with a suitable hollow o." recessed block, j, attached to the cylinder k, secured to astationary part of the machine, the air forced into the tube 5 causing the piston k of the cylinder k to descend.

The piston-rod of the piston k istubular and is also provided with openingsk, the cylinder k for a portion of its length being made larger in diameter and provided with several guideribs, 25, so that when the piston has descended it enters the enlarged part. of the cylinder, guided by the ribs 25, permitting the air back of it to pass through the openings k of the tubular rod 0*. The end of the plunger or rod 0 is beveled to enter and to be tightly seated when in its lowermost position in the upper driving head as to acts to stop the 380,645 a i Q 3 end of the block 0 of the feed-tube, so that when the piston has moved sufliciently to permit the air to pass through the .openings k the plunger is properly seated and the air is forced through the feed-tube, thus aiding the progress of the tack in its passage through the feed-tube in addition to the vacuum previously formed in the lower portion of the said tube ahead of the tack.

Near the termination of the feed-tnbe2 and adjacent to the driver-passage d is placed a let-oii device, which consists, as herein shown, of an arm, 32, attached to a rock-shaft, 55, the said arm having a finger, 31, at its lower end and having jointed to it aslide, 30. Theshaft 55 has connected to it an arm, 56, provided with a slotted end,which slot receives the pin 57,which also passes through the lower end of the valve 2; and the lever h, as shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, so that when the lever h is depressed by the thumb-piece the let-off will be moved. I I

The finger 31 and the slide 30 of the let-off have each a hole, the said holes being so arranged relatively each to the other that in the movement, of the arm 32 one, but never both, of the said holes will register at the same time. In this way when the arm 32 is in its normal position, as in. Fig. 5, the hole in the finger 31 descent of the tack above it, each movement back and forth of the lever It thus permitting, as will be obvious, one tack to pass into the driver-passage. A spring controlled plug, p, is fitted into' one side of the frame, the conical end of the said plug entering the tack-driver passage above the junction of the feed and suction tubes with the driverpassage, the driver-passage below the feedtube passage 2 having a pivoted valve, 56", controlled by a suitable spring,.7 5. The plug and valve thereby render the 'driver passage air-tight-,.in order that the air may beexhausted from the lower end of the tube 2 through the tube 3. The valve 56 acts as a clack-valve, and its inner or lower end within the driver-passage serves to support the tack next to be struck by the driver, the lower end of the valve being inclined or beveled inwardly to permit the said valve to be pushed back or out of the driver-passage laterally by the tack and driver acting against it. By this arrangement of air-tub s it will be seen that the tack is forced from the feed-tube into the driver-passage and is driven therefrom by the driver, and that thev'alves controlling the entire flow of air are so located upon the,tackbe easily accessible to the operator.

The tack-driving head is connected with the stationary part of the machine by a chain, F,

which is somewhat shorterthan the connected tubes 2 3 4 5, so that no injurious strain can come upon the tubes through movement of the head.

I claim- 1. In a tacking-machine, the flexible tackscribed.

9. In a machine for driving tacks, a feed-' conveying tube and a feeding device to feed tacks singly to the said tube, combined with a suspended head and an attached driver for driving the tacks at any point desired when delivered from the tube, substantiallyas described. A

2. In a machine for driving tacks, the hop per. mounted upon a stationary frame-work and a driver carried by a movable head suspended loosely therefrom, combined .with a flexible tack-conducting tube connecting the movable head with the stationary framework, substantially as described.

. 3. In a machine for driving tacks, a hopper and an inclined raceway, combined with a flexible tack-conducting tube, a driver carried by a loosely-suspended and universally-mow able head, and a let-ofi between the said tackconducting tube and driver, substantially. as described.

4. In a machine for driving tacks, a hopper,-

a universally-movable head, and an attached driver, combined with a tack-conveying tube connecting the said hopper and head, and' with means, substantially as described, controllable from the movable head to force air into the upper end of said conveying-tube to move forward the tacks contained therein, as set forth.

5. In a machine for driving tacks, ahopper and a universally-movable head and driver,

combined with a tack-conveying tube and with an air-exhausting device for exhausting the air from the lower part of the said tube, substantially as described.

' 6. In a machine for driving tasks, the head provided with the driver-passage, a feed-tube communicating therewith,a driver,and valves for closing the driver-passage simultaneously above and below the junction of the feed-tube therewith, and combined with means for ex-' hausting the air from thelower portion. of the feed-tube and in front of the tacks therein, substantiall y as described.

7. In a. machine for driving tacks, a feedtube and driver-passage with which it communieates, and a let-oiidevice for permitting the tacks to pass from the feed-tube to the driverpassage one at a time, combined with a driver and means, substantially as described, controlling the operation of the driver and let-ofl' device simultaneously, as described.

8. In a machine fordriving tacks, a hopper, its stationary frame-work, a driver, and its movable head, combined with a flexible feed tube and with a pump for exhausting the air from the feed tube and for operating the driver by compressed air, substantially as detube and driver, and a plunger, '0", for closing the upper end of the feed-tube, combined with an air-pump and with several flexible tubes for exhausting the air from the feed-tube from its lower end, causing the descent of the driver, and also for forcing the air into the feed-tube at its upper end, substantially as described;

10. In a machine for driving tacks, a hopper and raceway,.a. let-off valve mounted upon a stationary frame-work, the driver carried bya movable head, and a flexible feed-tube, combined with an air-pump and with pipes by which air is exhausted from the feed-tube at its lower end and 'foreedinto a cylinder to cause the descent of the driver, and with valves also' carried by the movable head for controlling the flow of air.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name it to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY W. DEAN.

Witnesses:

BERNICE J. N OYES, G. M. CONE. 

